Hardik Pandya gets booed during IPL 2024 matches: R Ashwin asks fans to forego 'cinema culture'

Add as a preferred source on Google

Senior Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has criticised the trend of "cinema culture" among Indian cricket fans after witnessing fans booing Hardik Pandya for replacing their favourite Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Mumbai Indians franchise in the ongoing IPL 2024.

Hardik was traded from the Gujarat Titans before the IPL 2024 Auction and was made the captain of Mumbai Indians, a move that didn't sit well with Rohit Sharma fans. This led to a section of overzealous fans initiating social media trolling of Hardik, taking Rohit's removal as MI captain personally.

Hardik Pandya facing online trolling

The trolling and criticism extended to the stadium, where Hardik was booed by a section of spectators during Mumbai Indians' opening game against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

During a live stream on his YouTube channel with cricket analyst Prasanna Agoram, Ashwin called for an end to fan conflicts, which he described as "turning very ugly."

Responding to a question from a user about whether Mumbai Indians management should intervene and issue a statement regarding the transfer, Ashwin emphasised that neither the franchise nor the player had a role in the matter. He stressed that the responsibility lay with the fans.

R Ashwin criticises fanatic fan culture

"Neither has any role to play. Neither the franchise nor the player has a role to play in this at all. I think the responsibility and the onus lies on the fans," the Tamil Nadu all-rounder said.

Despite being known as late bloomers in the IPL, Mumbai Indians started the 2024 season poorly, losing both their initial games against the Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Ashwin highlighted the absurdity of fan wars by questioning whether similar conflicts occurred between fans of players like Joe Root and Zak Crawley, or Joe Root and Jos Buttler, in other countries. He lamented the "cinema culture" in cricket fandom, acknowledging marketing and branding but condemning the descent into ugly fan behaviour.

"Have you seen this happen in any other country? Have you seen Joe Root and Zak Crawley fans fight? Or have you seen Joe Root and Jos Buttler fans fight? It's crazy. Have you seen Steve Smith and Pat Cummins fans fight in Australia?

"I've said this many times. This is cricket. This is a cinema culture. I know there are things like marketing, positioning and branding. I don't deny it. I don't believe in all this on my side but it's not wrong to indulge either," he opined.

Ashwin lamented, "Fan wars should never go in this ugly a route. One should remember which country these players represent - our country. So then what warrants a cricketer getting booed?"

He also reminded fans of the national pride associated with the players and questioned the justification for booing a cricketer. Ashwin referenced the history of Indian cricket, where players like Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, and MS Dhoni played under each other's captaincy without such conflicts.

"I don't understand. If you don't like a player and boo a player, why should a team come out to issue a clarification? We act like this has not happened before. (Sourav) Ganguly played under Sachin (Tendulkar) and vice versa.

"These two have both played under Rahul Dravid's captaincy. These three have played under Anil Kumble and all of them have played under Dhoni. When they were under Dhoni, these players were cricket jambhavans (giants). Dhoni too played under Virat," he said.

Ashwin urged for introspection among fans, emphasising the need to address the issue rather than expecting others to resolve it. He stressed the essence of real-time sports and emotions, advocating for a balance between admiration for favourite players and respect for others, asserting that this behaviour should vanish from the Indian cricket landscape.